Condemning extraordinary police raid on peaceful climate campaigners

Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd has condemned today’s extraordinary police action to raid a property in the Blue Mountains and arrest climate campaigners under suspicion of planning a peaceful protest action.

Quotes attributable to Greens NSW MP Abigail Boyd:

“The actions of NSW Police today, launching a preemptive raid against a property with a hundred armed police, dogs and helicopters, on suspicion of planning a protest action, is a terrifying overreach and abuse of power against peaceful climate campaigners.

“That police felt emboldened under this new anti-protest legislation to take this extraordinary authoritarian action should send a shockwave of alarm throughout our society - it is exactly the kind of assault on our democratic rights we warned of when these terrible laws were rushed through just months ago.

“We have won so many of the rights we now take for granted through protest actions and civil disobedience, but both of the major parties in NSW have joined together to pass laws that give police licence to intimidate residents and raid properties on the mere suspicion of a peaceful protest being planned.

“The Greens utterly condemn today’s police action. We must resist this authoritarian creep towards a police state.

“The NSW Liberals have been busy these last weeks spinning a pre-election narrative as a more cuddly and socially progressive party that is distinct from their federal counterpart - but it’s in these actions that they once again show their true colours. They’re trying to tell us they want to give the people of NSW a leg up, when really all we get is the boot.”

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